July 27, 1907. 
THE GARDENING WORLD. 
503 
rapidly growing herbaceous plants the 
warden will thrive all the better for occa¬ 
sionally feeling the want of water. 
The roots of a plant extend quite as far 
as the branches, and all this area must 
be supplied. The amateur usually pours 
water in a thin stream at the base of the 
stem, thus leaving the spreading roots 
to starve. Plants require liberal supplies 
of water when they are producing new 
shoots, and sometimes the addition of arti¬ 
ficial manure to enable them to build up 
fresh growth properly. Except during 
their resting time, one cannot run any 
risk by watering rapidly growing herba¬ 
ceous plants freely. 
The weather has been so wet and rough 
this year that almost all flowers have suf¬ 
fered. The Sweet Pea seems to have come 
off particularly badly, for not only has 
the commencement of the flowering sea¬ 
son been delayed, but those flowers which 
have opened have in many cases been so 
battered by the wind and discoloured by 
the rain as to be almost worthless. 
This year an unusually large number 
of buds have dropped before opening. Un¬ 
favourable weather must again be 
blamed, but a superfluity of manure has 
the same effect on the plants. 
By the time this meets the reader’s eye 
he will be able to judge the merits of the 
various novelties. All will agree that they 
include several valuable introductions, 
but at the same time it must be admitted 
that several of them have proved very 
sportive. Horace Wright is a very fine 
bold purple, but the flower stems are very 
weak, and as a rule it only comes two on 
a stem. Queen of Spain, although not of 
the largest size, is a flower of great beauty 
and refinement. Nora Unwin is a waved 
white of the largest size. It has come 
perfectly true, and has given great satis¬ 
faction. Frank Dolby is not very waved, 
but it is larger than Lady Grizel Hamil¬ 
ton, and I look upon it as being the best 
of all the fixed lavenders. It is true that 
a few mauve flowers have been produced 
by this variety, but not sufficient to de¬ 
tract much from its merit. With Mrs. 
Charles Foster, however, the reverse is 
the case, for the ordinary strain produced 
hardly any of the true lavender Spencer. 
The selected strain is better, but some of 
the flowers that are waved have far too 
much of the reddish shade in the stan¬ 
dard. Mrs. Charles Mander has given a 
good percentage of plum-coloured flowers 
jof the true Spencer form. Mrs. Collier 
I is certainly no nearer yellow than is the 
old favourite, Hon. Mrs. E. Kenyon, but 
it is a nice flower, with the form of 
Dorothy Eckford. A. J. Cook is disap¬ 
pointing, and will not displace Mrs. 
Walter Wright. Mrs. R. F. Felton is not 
| quite the same as Mrs. Collier; it is 
Water sparingly when the new shoots 
are developed, or the plants will grow on 
freely without forming flower buds. All 
plants have a period of rest, during which 
some require very little water, and others 
none at all. 
At short intervals either sponge or spray 
(according to the kind of plant) the leaves 
and stems, not only to clear away in¬ 
sects, but also to remove the dust which 
chokes the pores of the leaves. 
By enquiry from practical men and by 
personal observation one may extend 
these few hints, and thus make the gar¬ 
den a thing of joy and beauty. 
Baynton-Taylor. 
rather less cream and has not any very 
decided merit. E. J. Castle has not been 
at all itself this season, for the colour has 
been very pale. When the growth of the 
plants gets more woody, however, it will 
prove more satisfactory, especially if there 
is more sun. Olive Bolton has come prac¬ 
tically like Countess Spencer, and not 
true to the type exhibited. Codsall Rose, 
also, is not fixed, but it has yielded some 
very fine flowers. Most of the pink selec¬ 
tions from Countess Spencer have come 
with the true waved form, and for this 
reason are of merit, but many small 
growers will be glad when each plant 
comes true in shade to the colour expec¬ 
ted. 
Of last year’s novelties Queen Alex¬ 
andra is still grand, and Henry Eckford, 
when well grown, is a very fine flower, but 
the latter is still weak in . growth and 
burns very badly in the sun. Possibly 
many small growers have been very dis¬ 
appointed over this variety, but as yet it 
cannot be discarded, for. it is unique in 
colour. John Ingman, from selected 
strains, has come absolutely true, and is 
the largest Sweet Pea in commerce. Helen 
Lewis, from some sources, is still a little 
sportive, and it is an interesting fact that 
seed saved from a stock that last year 
came quite true is this year giving mauve 
and other coloured flowers. In some re¬ 
spects it is disappointing to have sports 
appearing among the plants, but there 
are compensations, for most of them are 
very well worth growing. For instance, I 
have had such nice things as carmine, 
white and maroon forms of Countess 
Spencer appearing in the rows. 
Those readers who are troubled with 
spot on their plants should adopt the mea¬ 
sures explained by “ Grower” in his recent 
interesting letter. Perhaps that gentle¬ 
man, or “Horti,” could give a cause and 
cure for plants becoming screwed up at 
the growing points, for the leaves becom¬ 
ing streaked with yellow and the flowers 
small and discoloured. This trouble has 
done great damage among my own plants 
this year, and although I have submitted 
plants to some of the large growers for 
inspection, no satisfactory reply has been 
forthcoming. 
To one who, aPhough being very inte¬ 
rested in Sweet Peas, is only able to grow 
comparatively few, a visit to grounds 
where they are grown by the acre is most 
fascinating. Such was my experience on 
a recent visit to Histon, in Cambridge. In 
this district Sweet Peas are grown very 
largely for market, quite a number of 
growers having half an acre or so. The 
name of Unwin, however, will be the most 
familiar to the reader, for, besides grow¬ 
ing for cut flowers, Mr. Unwin grows for 
seed, and gives a lot of room to the rais¬ 
ing of novelties by cross-fertilisation. 
Some facts as to grpwing for markets may 
prove interesting. In the first place, this 
industry has proved very remunerative in 
the past, but recently competition has in¬ 
creased very much. There is still, how¬ 
ever, plenty of scope. The method of cul¬ 
ture generally adopted in this district is 
to sow in September. The flowering and 
cutting generally commences at the end 
of the following May, but this year the 
season is a fortnight late. The ground 
is well dug by hand, and manured be¬ 
forehand, but no manure or water is given 
afterwards. Nevertheless, the flowers 
would be the envy of many. Towards 
the middle of July the autumn-sown 
plants were six and seven feet high, and 
covered with flowers, many of them well 
over two inches across, and mostly borne 
four on a stem. 
Of the established varieties that have 
been very successfully grown mention 
might be "made of Nora Unwin, King Ed¬ 
ward VII., Frank Dolby, Dorothy Eck¬ 
ford, Countess Spencer, and Mrs. Hard- 
castle' Sykes. I noted a row of the latter 
which was particularly fine, and although 
the plants were given no special treatment 
for exhibition, I measured a flower from 
two-and-a-quarter to two-and-a-half inches 
across the standard. This year, too, is 
not a good one for flowers, for although 
the growth has been exceptionally strong 
the flotvers have suffered, and Mr. L T nwin 
mentioned that the yield of bloom from 
the same area and in the same time has 
this year been only half that of last year. 
The most interesting of all were the 
fields of Sweet Peas raised by cross-ferti¬ 
lisation and from sports. Here were many 
wonderful flowers, far surpassing anything 
in commerce, but, alas! unfi'xed. Flowers 
which caught the eye were Black Michael, 
over two inches across, in the true Coun¬ 
tess Spencer form, and America, of the 
same size and shape. There were a num¬ 
ber of brilliant oranges and scarlets of 
the waved form, and a new picotee-edged 
flower, with a very regular and refined 
border, far in advance of Dainty. One 
or two other growers have flowers very 
similar to those mentioned, and it will be 
a race between them to see who can first 
get these splendid novelties fixed. 
Of the varieties -which Mr. Unwin has 
been able to get pretty well fixed, and 
which will be distributed this autumn, or 
the following autumn, the one christened 
Mrs. LTnwin is perhaps the best. This is 
a greatly improved Scarlet Gem of giant 
size. Mrs. H. J. Jones is a variety inter¬ 
mediate between Miss Willmott and 
Henry Eckford, and is exquisite. Most 
growers have a white form of Countess 
Spencer, and Mr. Unwin has a fine stock 
of it. A cream form of Gladys Unwin is 
also nearly ready for distribution. 
G. F. Drayson. 
Sweet Peas. 
IN JULY. 
